Preparing your garden to sell your house: lawn, hedges, photos
To prepare your garden before selling your house, start with what shows in the photos: mowing, edges, trimmed hedges, clear paths. If the lawn is yellowed, there are two options: reseed when you have several weeks ahead of you, or recolour the existing grass when viewings are coming up. A well-kept garden helps the presentation, without guaranteeing a sale.
The garden appears in the listing photos and is often the first thing a visitor sees on arrival. It does not need to be spectacular. Above all, it should give the impression of well-kept grounds, with no work to plan as soon as the buyer moves in.
What can be done in a weekend, without buying anything
- Mow the lawn and trim the edges along the paths and the patio.
- Pick up leaves, branches and fallen fruit.
- Trim the hedges and clear the windows and walkways.
- Clean the patio and put away tools, toys, tarpaulins and empty pots.
- Weed paths and the base of walls by hand.
These steps are enough in many cases. The yellowed lawn and the dull hedge are the two points that tidying alone does not fix.
Yellowed lawn: repair or recolour depending on your timetable
Start with the diagnosis. A lawn yellowed by drought is most often dormant: the Royal Horticultural Society points out that established turf greens up again when the rain returns. If the sale is being prepared in autumn, the rain may do the job on its own. Where the soil is visible, the grass is dead and will need replacing.
| Situation | Option | Timescale |
|---|---|---|
| Dormant lawn, viewings in several weeks, rain expected | wait for it to recover | a few weeks |
| Dead areas, soil visible | reseed or lay turf | several weeks of growth |
| Grass yellowed but present, photos or viewings soon | recolour | one application, 8 hours without rain |
To reseed, the RHS recommends late September, or in spring by April at the latest. Turf is laid from September to March, when the soil is neither waterlogged nor frozen. If the photos are planned in ten days, neither will have time to establish. Our article on how to make your lawn green fast compares the real timescale of each option.
Recolouring the lawn before viewings
What many people call grass paint is, at Greeneclat, a colorant: the blades stay alive, with no plastic film, and the colour goes with the mowing. It is made of organic pigments, a 98% bio-based plant resin and water. Our page what is called grass paint explains the difference.
The shade
Meadow Green, light, suits a lawn that is still green, young turf and north-western France. Forest Green, deeper and matt, does a better job on a very yellow lawn, a shaded area or a garden in the south. The guide which shade to choose helps you decide, and a photo sent to our team is often enough.
The timetable
Apply a few days before the photo shoot or the first viewing, to keep a margin in case the weather turns. Mow before application, then avoid mowing again until the photos: each mowing removes part of the colour.
Application
- Dilute according to condition: 1:30 for a very yellow or dormant lawn, 1:40 moderately damaged, 1:50 still green.
- Spray in criss-cross passes, in two light passes rather than a single heavy one.
- Allow 8 hours without rain after application.
- Keep children and pets away during application and drying, under 2 hours in usual conditions. Once dry, the product is safe for them.
The budget, at retail price
According to our calculator, for 300 m² of lawn that is still healthy, one 1 L concentrate is enough: €89.99, that is €0.30 per m². If the lawn is very yellow, you need two litres: €179.98, that is €0.60 per m². For a small area of about 50 m², the 5 L ready-to-use container comes to €49.99, that is €1.00 per m². Our article on working out the quantity of colorant covers other areas.
The dull hedge, the other visible point
A browned or dull thuja hedge shows as much as the lawn, and it takes months to recover. On a hedge that is still alive, a colorant lasts 6 to 12 months, which easily covers the length of a sale. Forest Green is the recommended shade for thujas and conifers, at a 1:30 dilution. The 500 mL concentrate treats about 100 m of hedge. What is dead and dry cannot be recoloured: those plants will need trimming or replacing. Our article on hedge paint for thujas explains the method.
Stay transparent with the buyer
A colorant improves the look of living grass. It does not hide an underlying problem: soil, dead areas and moss remain visible, and the colour goes with the mowing over 2 to 3 months. If a buyer asks, say so simply. A dormant lawn will green up with the rain, and that is an honest point to make during a summer viewing.
What the colorant does not do
It does not make grass grow back, does not fill in worn areas and treats no disease. It is neither a fertiliser nor a weedkiller. It is not applied to vegetable patches, flower beds, mulch or wooden decking.
Estate agencies: a service to offer with a landscaper
For a listing where the garden weighs in the presentation, an agency can offer its seller a makeover carried out by a landscaper: mowing, trimming, recolouring the lawn and hedge in one visit. Trade terms are not published and can be requested from the page Request a trade price.
Frequently asked questions
How long before viewings should the lawn be recoloured?
A few days before the photo shoot or the first viewing. That leaves a margin to redo an area if rain falls within the 8 hours after application. Mow just before applying, then avoid mowing again before the photos, because each mowing removes part of the colour.
Will the colour last until the sale?
On a lawn, the colour lasts 2 to 3 months and goes with the mowing. Nobody can predict how long a sale will take: if it drags on, a second application is possible. On a hedge, it lasts 6 to 12 months.
Should I tell the buyer that the lawn has been recoloured?
If the question is asked, answer frankly. The colorant hides neither soil, dead areas nor moss: it improves the look of living grass. A lawn yellowed by drought will generally green up with the rain, which is more reassuring than silence.
Can a lawn be recoloured in winter before a sale?
Yes, on dormant turf, at a 1:30 dilution. You need 8 hours without rain after application. In damp weather with repeated dew, drying can take longer than the usual 2 hours: choose a dry day.
The right format for a garden
For a lawn of 200 to 400 m², the 1 L Meadow Green concentrate covers up to 400 m² of healthy turf, with free delivery in France. It also comes in Forest Green. If you are unsure about the shade or dose, send us a photo of the garden.
